Seraphim (Glagolevsky) of Novgorod and St. Petersburg

Metropolitan Seraphim (Glagolevsky) of Novgorod and St. Petersburg was the ruling hierarch of the Diocese of Novgorod and St. Petersburg between 1821 and 1843. He was active in promotion of education and publication of church service books within the diocese.

Life

Born Stefan Vasilievich Glagolevsky, he received his theological education at the Slavic Greek Latin Academy in Moscow, later renamed Moscow Ecclesiastical (Theological) Academy, beginning in 1782. After graduation he taught at the Holy Trinity Seminary before returning in 1787 to the Moscow Academy as a professor and, then, in 1790 as a director.

Stefan took his monastic vows in 1787 and was tonsured with the name Seraphim. In 1791, he was appointed a censor of printed theological books. In 1795, Seraphim was raised to the dignity of archimandrite and appointed abbot of the Mozhaisky Luzhetsky Monastery and made a member of the Moscow Ecclesiastical Consistory. In 1799, he was appointed president of the Moscow Theological Academy and consecrated Bishop of Dmitrov, a vicar of the Moscow diocese.

He was appointed Bishop of Vyatka in 1804 and then Bishop of Smolensk in 1805. In 1812, Bp. Seraphim was appointed Archbishop of Minsk and also named to sit as a member of the Holy Synod. In 1814, he was appointed Archbishop of Tver and a member of the Board of Theological Academies. Then in 1819, he was appointed the Metropolitan of Moscow.

In 1821, Metr. Seraphim was named Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Eastland, and Finland and abbot of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In his position as metropolitan, Metr. Seraphim placed emphasis on education and publication of service books for the Church. He was an active opponent of the various masonic and mystical sects popular at the time. He supported many churches, monasteries, and seminaries in other eparchies with large donations. When Tsar Nicholas I ascended the throne, Metr. Seraphim participated in the evaluation of the status of the parishes in Estonia that resulted in the establishment of the Riga Vicariate as part of the Pskov Diocese. In 1828, he laid the cornerstone of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Izmailovsky Life Guard Regiment (not to be confused with Holy Trinity Cathedral at Alexander Nevsky Lavra).

He was among those who attempted to persuade the Decemberists to cease their mutiny during the uprising of December 14, 1825, but to no avail. Metr. Seraphim reposed in 1843 and was buried in the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.